the wondrous Galileo!...shall we bake cakes, birthday; and drink the wine, of the sun...and remember

3 quotes from the brave soul..

"Wine is sunlight held together by water."...oh my..

"You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him find it within himself."

"What greater stupidity can be imagined than that of calling jewels, silver, and gold 'precious,' and earth and soil 'base'? People who do this ought to remember that if there were as great a scarcity of soil as of jewels or precious metals, there would not be a prince who would not spend a bushel of diamonds and rubies and a cartload of gold just to have enough earth to plant a jasmine in a little pot, or to sow an orange seed and watch it sprout, grow, and produce its handsome leaves, its fragrant flowers, and fine fruit. It is scarcity and plenty that make the vulgar take things to be precious or worthless; they call a diamond very beautiful because it is like pure water, and then would not exchange one for ten barrels of water. "_________________"I've never accepted the external appearance of things as the whole truth. The world is much more elaborate than the nerves of our eye can tell us." - James Gleeson

the mind comes with a cost! it's fine and dandy when in the company of those such as your dear self...however ....when the discussions turn to philosophy ...my oh my....the water boils to red hot...or whatever term is used! Especially with those who think literally, linear, within the boundary....almost an impossibility for moi!

Just a few days back the subject was morality and the unnatural...I don't tend to use the word "unnatural" because for me, all that happens is simply of nature...it happens...however I will use the word "abnormal" ~ however who determines 'normal'...that becomes subjective..

there were some who wouldn't have wished for my mind~~~~I could sense that some thought disgust...be that as it may...I enjoy language and these days think much more about the words I use...their meaning for me..oh, and the sheer sheer and a few mores sheers of delight in playing with words..I think of pastry letters...the chocolate message written by a chef on a plate of mini desserts for our wedding anniversary...language joy

Erin, your post brought a Nile-wide smile to my face. (Amazon would be more appropriate however Nile looks better)..thanks ~ I look forward to meeting assorted c'nzers....you could cook, and I could wax lyrical....and of course glasses would clink...and others would gather...and the feasting would begin..._________________"I've never accepted the external appearance of things as the whole truth. The world is much more elaborate than the nerves of our eye can tell us." - James Gleeson

Matt Groening is celebrating a birthday today...dear inventor of The Simpsons..oh I know I know..ya either love 'em or hate 'em...for me, the writing is priceless...Homer saying: judge Judy and executioner... Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true!oh dear dear Homer..

and a few more from Galileo Galilei...love the name! Am imagining what it must have been for him to recant... Part of the advice for Feb 15 folk from my b'day book.."Develop patience and remain focused, while learning to handle rejection and disappointment." ..how about that!

am imagining a conversation between Galileo and Homer Simpson

You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him find it within himself.

I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn't learn something from him.

All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.

Where the senses fail us, reason must step in.

I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.

In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual.

Doubt is the father of invention.

I think that in the discussion of natural problems we ought to begin not with the Scriptures, but with experiments, and demonstrations.

In my opinion, nothing occurs contrary to nature except the impossible, and that never occurs.

It is surely harmful to souls to make it a heresy to believe what is proved._________________"I've never accepted the external appearance of things as the whole truth. The world is much more elaborate than the nerves of our eye can tell us." - James Gleeson

Hurrah for Galileo - the questioner, the rebel of common sense-ness, the disbeliever of nonsense once it had been proved nonsense! Hurrah for the truth-tellers, the inquiring minds, the seekers... those whose minds are filled with colours...

Booo to the nitwit grey-minds of the Inquisition. Booo to bigotry of all kinds!

As for Homer... a crate of Duff for the man! Also... bring me the boy!!! Groening is a real hero of modern life as Baudelaire put it... tho' admittedly not about Groening! I am amazed that there are still people not under the magic spell of the Simpsons!

Quote:

the subject was morality and the unnatural...I don't tend to use the word "unnatural" because for me, all that happens is simply of nature...it happens...however I will use the word "abnormal" ~ however who determines 'normal'...that becomes subjective..

Exactly. There is no such thing as normal, like perfection it is a value and depends on a set of criteria to define it. Or as Billy the Kid put it in Hamlet, 'Nothing is good or bad, but thinking makes it so.' Nietzsche said of morality, if my memory er, remembers, that it was good manners in a society. For my part, I don't believe in morality - only ethics. Morals for me are how you think others should live their lives, Ethics are how you think you should live your own._________________Confusion comes fitted as standard.

oh Griffin..such a smarty you is!...let's sip bubbles in celebration of the birthday boys and gals of today.._________________"I've never accepted the external appearance of things as the whole truth. The world is much more elaborate than the nerves of our eye can tell us." - James Gleeson

Hey--thanks for the reminder! 'Tis my wee sister's birthday and I hadn't sent a note. Will do so now. No Galileo she but a super mom and has the patience required to have 2 teenage boys approaching "manhood" with nary a stumble! (amazing really!)_________________Vivant Linguae Mortuae!!

"You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him find it within himself."

Ahhh! No wonder I am finding it so hard to lose weight!

Deep within me there's the entire Chinese language and a profound grasp of surgical procedures and all I need to do is locate either and draw them forth? Imagine!

* * *
Galileo is another good reason to visit Pisa to pay your respects to its native son, imagining him looking up at the lamps swinging inside the cathedral and down to the ground from the height of the bell tower, watching objects fall.

One of the books I'm waiting for from my book swapping service is James Reston's account of Galileo's struggle with the Church. Doubt it will be coming by his birthday but maybe next year. Meanwhile, I'll remember to remember because this came up again.

David- Good to see a post from you. Hope you and Dick are each doing well in your own ways and that the snow that has crippled the eastern States was kinder to eastern Provinces._________________God writes a lot of comedy... the trouble is, he's stuck with so many bad actors who don't know how to play funny. -- Garrison Keillor

I remember reading Against Our Will as a 19 year old, and while it didn't change my life, it certainly changed how I felt and what I thought about things._________________Doing what you like is freedom
Liking what you do is happiness

February 15 is also the anniversary of the raising of the red maple leaf Canadian Flag! First raised in 1965 on that date.

Rainey---although it has been bitterly cold with really nasty winds we escaped the majority of the snow. While neighbours to the south have received up to 4 metres of snow we, here in the Ottawa area, got off with about 15 cms. Thank you for thinking of us! And where is Erin suffering out the storms???_________________Vivant Linguae Mortuae!!